COVID-19 in Europe: releases weekly updated status reports.
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The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) gathers COVID-19 related information amongst National Medical Associations on a continuous basis and
releases weekly updated status reports.
COVID-19 in Europe:
Status report from the National Medical Associations
12 March 2021
This report provides an overview of the national responses to the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe and the medical profession’s involvement in the fight against the
virus.
Disclaimer: As national situations constantly evolve this report does not claim permanent or comprehensive validity but rather
provides a snapshot at a given point in time. The information provided originates from different dates.Questions 1:
COVID-19 prevalence amongst doctors (Infection/death rates among doctors and other health professionals)
Do all health professionals have access to high quality PPE?
Have you changed your procurement practices for PPE?
Are doctors regularly tested for COVID-19? If so, how often?
If you request to be tested for COVID-19, are the test fees covered by the national health system?
Are doctors a priority group in the national COVID-19 vaccination plan?
Who may administer the COVID-19 vaccine (under supervision of a doctor)?
How does your country organise the staffing of the vaccine centres?
If you use a digital contact tracing app, is there a different regime for the proximity alerts if you are a health professional?
Shortages of medicines (e.g. Propophol)?
Shortages of Medical Devices (e.g. ventilation devices)?
Have you used 100% of your stocks of medical devices and medicines needed to treat COVID-19 patients at any time of the pandemic?
Did you manage to restock medicines and medical devices? Did you cooperate with other countries or participate in any EU programme?
Have you noticed an increase of falsified or substandard medical devices or medicines to treat COVID-19 patients?
Shortage of workforce?
Do you still rely on national reserves of healthcare professionals, e.g. retired doctors, students?
Working time/Work load
Is there compensation for loss of income? Is there compensation for families of doctors, who lost their lives to Covid? Are bonuses given to health
professions?
What are the on-going restrictions on professional practice, appointments, patient contact?
How long will it take to deal with the backlog of treatments (postponed elective surgeries, postponed cancer treatment, patients presenting late)?
What training was offered to doctors to deal with the pandemic (e.g. relating to PPE, ICM or digital skills)?
What kind of mental health and wellbeing support practices have been put in place for doctors and other healthcare professionals?
Other workforce measures of note (e.g. in relation to travel restrictions)?
Other comments
1
All information was updated with the reports provided by National Medical Associations up to 12 March 2021. Fields marked with a « 0 » imply that no response has been received so far.Countries:
Albania Greece North Macedonia
Austria Hungary Norway
Belgium Iceland Poland
Bulgaria Ireland Portugal
Croatia Israel Romania
Cyprus Italy Serbia
Czech Republic Kosovo ∗ Slovakia
Denmark Latvia Slovenia
Estonia Lithuania Spain
Finland Luxembourg Sweden
France Malta Switzerland
Georgia Montenegro Turkey
Germany Netherlands Ukraine
United Kingdom
∗
References to Kosovo are without prejudice to positions on status. They are in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/1999 and
the opinion by the International Court of Justice on the Kosovo declaration of independence.Country COVID-19 prevalence amongst doctors (Infection/death rates among doctors and
other health professionals)
Albania 0
Austria Data on this issue is not published. To date, the death of one doctor (GP) is known.
Belgium 0
Bulgaria Number of healthcare professionals infected (confirmed by a PCR test) in 2020: 9142. 46 physicians have lost their lifes. May
their souls rest in peace.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic By 15 November, there had been 5401 cases and 9 deaths among doctors, and 14,733 cases and 5 deaths among nurses. In
general, the autumn wave of the COVID-19 epidemic has been much more serious than the spring wave.
Denmark By 15 December, there had been 932 hospital doctors (5,06%) and 27 GPs (3,11%) infected with Covid-19.
Estonia There were minor outbreaks in three hospitals in Estonia, one in Tallinn and one in the East region.
Finland Health authorities do not publish this kind of information.
France On 3 June, the retirement fund for doctors (CARMF) counted about fifty private physicians who had died of COVID-19.
Georgia 15 500 medical staff (official data for 2020) are infected. 62 died (0,4%).
Germany Especially in the early stages of the pandemic many health professionals with COVID-19 were registered without any special
reference to their work. However, reporting has improved since. At the end of January 2021, there were 111.076 confirmed
cases of health professionas who contracted COVID-19 (including other medical staff), of whom 193 died. Three percent of
German health professionals contracted the disease so far (Source: RKI).
Greece More than 1500 healthcare professionals are COVID-19 positive and approximately 500 doctors and nurses are in quarantine.
Three doctors and one nurse passed away.
Hungary On 02/10/2020, there were 481 infected health professionals in Hungary. There are no specific numbers on doctors available at
the moment.
Iceland There are no overall statistics for COVID-19 infections amongst doctors. The IcMA has regularily made enquiries to all health
organisations in the country. So far there appear to be no patient – doctor transmissions and no deaths among doctors.Ireland As of 03/03/2021 there has been 26545 (12% of all cases) cases of infection among HCWs and 15 deaths. Between 22/11/2020
and 20/02/2021, there were a total of 14,866 HCW cases. 646 (4.4%) of these cases were amongst doctors.
Israel 0
Italy As of 16 February 2021, 319 doctors have died of a COVID-19 infection. There have been 118.856 cases among healthcare
workers (cumulative data), of which 7.604 cases occurred in the last 30 days. The sources for this data are FNOMCeO and the
Istituto Superiore di Sanità.
Kosovo* Based on data 10/01/2021 there have been 3397 cases of infection among healthcare professionals of which 1179 cases are
doctors. 18 doctors have lost their life.
Latvia Available data indicates low infection rate among doctors and other health professionals - close to the 10% of all cases. Since
November 2020, there have been 6 deaths among doctors.
Lithuania There is no information about the prevalence among doctors. Lithuanian Medical Association knows about 61 170 healthcare
workers tested till October and 558 of them were tested positive (0,91%). The biggest number of infected healthcare workers
was in September -126. There were no deaths among doctors and other health professionals.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands There is no prevalence data amongs doctors available. Since 27 February 2020, there were altogether 883,135 COVID-19
infections were reported by the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs). Until 12 Januari 2021, 110,438 confirmed cases
(health professionals, age 18-69 years) have been registered. 16% of all confirmed cases (age 18-69 years) are health
professionals. 1,8% of all registered deaths due to COVID-19 were health professionals.
North Macedonia By 17 January 2021, there had been 3439 confirmed COVID 19 cases and 22 deaths among all health care professionals. Health
authorities do not publish exact statistics, so there is no information about the prevalence among doctors or how many
infections are workplace-related. Out of 22 deaths reported among health care professionals, to our knowledge, almost half
were doctors.
Norway Available data indicate very low infection rates among doctors and other health professionals since June. To our knowledge no
deaths among health professionals have been registered due to COVID-19.Poland According to data released by the Polish Ministry of Health on 5 February to date 86 medical doctors died due to COVID-19 (21
964 doctors were tested positive). As regards other healthcare professionals the numbers are: among dentists, there were 12
deaths (out of 2096 cases), among nurses, there were 67 deaths (out of 55 269 cases), among paramedics there were 7 deaths
(out of 3320 cases), and among pharmacists there were 5 (out of 2359 cases).
Portugal 0
Romania On 7 October, the situation in Romania was:
The infection rate of health workers compared to the average infection rate of citizens is 3.21/1.
The share of infected health workers in the total number of infected citizens is 4%.
A total of 5,717 confirmed cases of health workers, of which 700 are doctors.
Deaths among health workers: 34.
So far, 142,570 infections and 5,203 deaths due to COVID-19 have been registered in the Romanian population.
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden Infection prevalence: 13 March -30 June 2020: 3,4 % 24 August - 15
December 2020: 5,6 % According to the media 2 doctors with confirmed COVID-19 infection have died.
Switzerland There are no official numbers are available, incidence varies by canton and speciality. In the beginning of the pandemic the risk
of infoection for doctors and other health professionals in Switzerland was clearly elevated in comparison to the general
population. One reason was lack of PPE. Death rates are considered to be low.
Turkey According to the Ministry of Health data on 9.12.2020: The number of healthcare professionals infected with COVID-19 is
120,000 and the number of deaths is 216; so infection-case (some of the cases are in screening) fatality rate is %0,18. According
to the Turkish Medical Association (TMA) data on 25.01.2021, the number of healthcare professionals who died due to COVID-
19 is 327 (actively working); based on this data, it is estimated that 181,666 healthcare professionals are infected. The number
of active doctors working in Turkey is 165 thousand (the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 118) the infection fatality rate is
%0.7. According to the data obtained by TMA, 138 doctors (118 actively working, including Syrian physicians) died due to COVID-
19 related causes. There are 165 ,000 active physicians working in Turkey. In this case, mortality rate due to COVID-19 is 0.07%
for physicians working actively.UK Doctors in England and Wales completed the survey between 6 and 12 August.
Of the 4,120, 12% had a diagnosis confirmed by testing, and 14% had not. 63% did not believe they had contracted the virus.
Continuing or new symptoms that are believed to have been caused by Covid-19 that are reported by doctors who had
contracted Covid-19 and have now recovered (1,030 respondents) include: chronic fatigue 21%; reduced exercise capacity 21%;
muscle weakness 8%; Concentration difficulties 11%.
Ukraine By 14 November 2020, there had been 26 422 confirmed COVID 19 cases and 258 deaths among all health care professionals.Country Do all health professionals have access to high quality PPE?
Albania 0
Austria Yes
Belgium 0
Bulgaria Yes, however helmets are not widely available. Many doctors and health staff purchase them privately.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic Currently, they do. Hospitals were required to build up the stocks of PPE for 1-2 months of operation. In May when the
epidemic situation in CR got better, the Czech Medical Chamber also called upon the private doctors to build up the stocks of
PPE for at least 1 month of operation. The offers of existing commercial suppliers of PPE are published on the Czech Medical
Chamber website.
Denmark Yes.
Estonia Health professionals mostly have access to high quality PPE.
Finland Yes, they do.
France A state stock has been made available to health professionals and the quality is monitored by the ANSM through its
materiovigilance service. In case of a defective product , there is a form to notify "Deficient Quality in Covid-19 protective
equipment": https://signalement.social-sante.gouv.fr/psig_ihm_utilisateurs/index.html#/accueil
Georgia Yes.
Germany In spring 2020, there was an evident lack in PPE, first and foremost regarding protective gear and protective masks for health
professionals. General practitioners were severely affected. Currently, all health professionals have access to high quality PPE.
Greece Yes, they do.
Hungary Yes, they do.
Iceland Yes, they do.
Ireland Yes, they do.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* Yes, they do.Latvia Yes, they do.
Lithuania Yes, certainly. Health care institutions are required to build up stocks of PPE for some months.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands Only if necessary. Hospitals have their own guidelines. For health professionals working outside the hospital PPE is only
recommended when caring for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 within 1,5 m distance. Health professionals may
deviate from these guidelines and ask for PPE in specific situations.
North Macedonia Yes, they do, most of the time. Тhere was a brief shortage of PPE at the beginning of the pandemic, when private practice GPs
were most affected, and in non-COVID19 wards strategies for optimizing PPE use were implemented (extended PPE use and
using alternative PPE items).
Norway Whereas at the end of March and the beginning of April, 240 of 356 municipalities reported shortages of PPE, as of August 2,
the Norwegian Health Directorate reports no shortage. Some municipalities report having less than 3 weeks supplies.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania No, only those in the medical units dedicated to COVID-19. The rest have PPE bought either from personal resources for doctors
with free practice, or purchased by employers from the usual suppliers of sanitary materials, being difficult to assess their
quality.
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden Yes. All health professionals have access to PPE at the moment.
Switzerland At the moment yes. This may be changing, if a 2nd wave comes.
Turkey No, they don’t. Although equipments are not uniform and vary according to the service where the healthcare professional
works and the patient group they work with, they have difficulty finding even the most easily available equipment such as
surgical gloves and surgical masks, see https://koronavirus.ato.org.tr/saglik-calisanlari/122-kisisel-koruyucu-ekipman-
raporu.html. There have been improvements in this regard over time, but still not enough.UK In the early stages of the pandemic the BMA wrote to the Prime Minister to request that “that healthcare workers have the
proper protection for caring for patients with COVID-19 as well as being given priority testing.”
Since April the BMA has been conducting regular surveys of the medical profession, which includes access to PPE. In April 2020
more than half of doctors working in high-risk environments said there were either shortages or no supply at all of adequate
face masks, while 65% said they did not have access to eye protection. Furthermore, 55% said they felt pressurised to work in a
high-risk area despite not having adequate PPE. Full survey data is available here https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-
support/covid-19/what-the-bma-is-doing/covid-19-analysing-the-impact-of-coronavirus-on-doctors
More recently we have (along with other professional bodies) raised concerns about the adequacy of PPE guidance, particularly
in relation to protection from airborne transmission, and have called for wider use of respiratory protective equipment (eg FFP3
masks or equivalent).
Ukraine No, only those in the medical units dedicated to COVID-19. The rest have PPE purchased by employers from the usual suppliers
of sanitary materials, being difficult to assess their quality.Country Have you changed your procurement practices for PPE?
Albania 0
Austria During the COVID-19 pandemic, the import of half masks to Austria is also permitted up to and including 31 December 2020 if
the masks do not comply with the regulations for personal protective equipment in accordance with EU-regulation 2016/425.
The importer / manufacturer has to ensure that these masks are only used as mechanical protective barriers and that no further
protective effect can be assumed.
This expressly excludes filtering half masks with built-in exhalation valves and masks with CE markings, FFP devices and / or
masks marked with the EN 149: 2001 + A1: 2009 are standard. The import of masks marked or constructed in this way into
Austria is only permitted if they comply with the applicable provisions of EU-regulation 2016/425.
Belgium 0
Bulgaria The Emergency Law allowed medical establishments to contract directly with providers of disinfectants, medical equipment,
PPEs etc., thus suspending some articles of the Procurement law.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic During the state of emergency in March and April, PPE was purchased without providing for full and open competition. Fast but
in some cases at immoderate prices. After the end of the state of emergency, The Public Procurement Act came back into force.
According to our information, the state-organized purchases are slow.
Denmark The Danish authorities continuously adjust the guidelines etc on use of PPE in the health care sector.
Estonia No, there was not.
Finland Procurement processes have been streamlined. Domestic production started in the summer.
France The state has made a state stock available to healthcare professionals , which is provided, free of charge, through pharmacies,
upon presentation of proof of activity.: https://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/2020-dgs-urgent_51_-
_evolution_doctrine_distribution_masques.pdf
Georgia No.
Germany Germany enacted a new regulation on the procurement of PPE regarding COVID-19 (Verordnung zur Beschaffung von
Medizinprodukten und persönlicher Schutzausrüstung bei der durch das Corona-Virus SARS-CoV-2 verursachten Epidemie). The
German state is thus responsible for acquisition and distribution of PPE needed to handle the pandemic.
Greece No, there was not.Hungary No, there was not.
Iceland No, there was not.
Ireland Yes, there is now a single point of contact for critical PPE.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* During the state of emergency in March - May, PPE was purchased without providing for full and open competition. PPE became
available fast but in some cases at immoderate prices. This is due to the fact that Kosovo* is a small market. After the end of the
state of emergency in June 2020, the Public Procurement Law came back into force,even though with a lot of tecnical problems.
Latvia No. There were partial relief in the legal framework during the state emergency declared from March 11 to June 7.
Lithuania Yes, the rules of public procurement have been changed due to a large sypply of PPE. Moreover, national companies
contributed and provided a lot of PPE for free.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands No.
North Macedonia Some articles of the Procurement law were suspended during the state of emergency in the spring.The Ministry of health has
made a state stock of PPE available to all public health care facilities and distributed it according to their needs.
Norway Due to the pandemic, a larger supply of PPE than before has been stockpiled, as the pandemic revealed that the previous
preparedness strategy was not sufficient when the whole world community is impacted. One of the regional health
corporations, Health South East, has been tasked with procuring and distributing PPE nationally, as a temporary measure.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania Unfortunately, there have apparently been frauds in public procurement, and there are currently ongoing investigations. In
March and April, doctors with free practice tried to be supplied by the public agency of the Ministry of Health, but the frauds
and difficulties in purchasing from external providers, made that all purchases were on the free market, which in turn was as
well subject of speculative pressures.
Serbia 0Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden Yes. In Sweden, the 21 regions and 290 municipalities are responsible for everyday purchasing, delivery and receipt of personal
protective equipment and medical supplies. During the COVID-19 response, the National Board of Health and Welfare has been
commissioned by the Government to assist coordinated purchasing from the national level and to secure access to personal
protective equipment and other supplies if the regional or municipal capacity for this is insufficient. The Board is also
commissioned to assist with redistribution of equipment and supplies, if needed.
Switzerland Numbers for surgical masks and gloves have been adopted.
Turkey The measures and regulations in which the healthcare professionals in the area could protect their health were not sufficient at
the beginning of the pandemic(https://koronavirus.ato.org.tr/saglik-calisanlari/122-kisisel-koruyucu-ekipman-raporu.html).
TheTurkish Medical Association has warned the Ministry of Health many times on this issue.
UK 0
Ukraine No.Country Are doctors regularly tested for COVID-19? If so, how often?
Albania 0
Austria Yes, doctors are tested once a week.
Belgium 0
Bulgaria Medical doctors are tested upon return from vacation and quarantine. Some hospitals have introduced bi-monthly testing.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic Not regulary. Only in case of showing symptoms and based on recommendation of the general practitioner, or in case of proven
contact with an infected person within quarantine.
Denmark Doctors with ordinary patient contact are tested every 6th week. Doctors in contact with particularly vulnerable patients are
tested every second week.
Estonia Doctors in general do not have access to regular testing.
Finland There is no regular testing. Doctors are tested if they have symptoms.
France Healthcare professionals are invited, like any citizen, to be tested in the event of symptoms or "contact cases".
Georgia Yes, once or twice a week.
Germany Any health professional who had contact with COVID-19 patients is tested regularly. The frequency of the testing depends on
the individual testing strategy of the respective hospitals and other facilities. (Source: Nationale Teststrategie SARS-CoV2)
Greece All healthcare professionals are tested at least once a week.
Hungary No, only if they have symptoms or had contact with infected patients.
Iceland No, but everyone can get a test if they think they have COVID -19 or were in contact with infected individuals.
Ireland No, healthcare workers are referred for testing if they display one of the symptoms or if they have symptoms of acute
respiratory illness OR have been in contact with a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case in the last 14 days.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* Not regulary. Only in case of showing symptoms or in case of proven contact with an infected person within quarantine.Latvia They are tested in the same way as the general population. University hospitals and some regional hospitals have introduced
wekly testing of health care profesionals.
Lithuania Doctors are tested as much as needed, there are no restrictions.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands Only if they have (mild) symptoms.
North Macedonia Not regularly. PCR testing is done only when the doctor has symptoms or is referred by an epidemiologist. However, testing for
COVID-19 antibodies presence is available and free of charge for all health professionals at the Institute of Immunology and
human genetics and the Institute of clinical biochemistry.
Norway Health personell who within the previous 10 days has been in countries outside of Norway which are not covered by the
requirement of quarantine on return (so-called yellow areas), should inform their employer before returning to work. The
recommendation is that they undergo at least one test for SARS-COV-2 and that they do not carry out work in contact with
patients befere a negative test is present.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania They are tested in the same way as the general population, only if they are COVID suspected, or if they have come in direct
contact with positive patients and show symptoms. Some medical units test their employees if they have established their own
procedure for this. The medical staff of the care units for the elderly and people with special needs is officially tested every two
weeks.
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden They are not regurlarly tested, only if they show symptoms of COVID-19 or have been at risk to have been infected according to
infection contact tracing.
Switzerland No. Healthcare workers are referred for testing only if they display one of the symptoms or if they have symptoms of acute
respiratory illness AND have been in contact with a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case in the last 14 days.Turkey No, the doctors are notregularly tested for COVID-19. If they have had high-risk contact with a covid-19 patient, they are tested,
see https://covid19.saglik.gov.tr/Eklenti/39265/0/covid-19salginyonetimivecalismarehberipdf.pdf.
UK Staff will get home kits to test themselves twice a week: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/asymptomatic-
nhs-staff-testing/
Ukraine Not regulary. Only in case of showing symptoms and based on recommendation of the general practitioner, or in case of proven
contact with an infected person within quarantine.Country If you request to be tested for COVID-19, are the test fees covered by the national
health system?
Albania 0
Austria The option for a free test is available by contacting the National Health Hotline or in case an infection is justifiably suspected or
by signing up for a test at the mass testing sites. Voluntary tests done elsewhere are not covered by the national health system.
Belgium 0
Bulgaria No, if a person wishes to be tested for COVID-19, costs are bourne by the person in question. If referred by physician, tests are
covered by the National Health Insurance Fund.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic Yes, in this case the test is covered by the public health insurance.
Denmark Yes
Estonia Yes, it is.
Finland Tests are provided both in the public and private sector. In the public sector, the test is free of charge. In the private sector, fees
vary and the cost is partly reimbursable from the sickness insurance.
France Healthcare professionals benefit from easy access to COVID-19 tests on presentation of their professional card in any laboratory
of their choice and with full coverage by health insurance.
Georgia Yes, for cases which fit case definition, in case of close contacts and priority groups.
Germany Yes, it is for health professionals.
Greece All citizens have access to public hospitals and can be tested.
Hungary No, only if the request comes from the doctor. If you want to be tested personally, the price has been regulated by the
authorities since 17 September.
Iceland Yes, they are.
Ireland If an individual is referred for a COVID test there is no charge.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* No charges in this case.
Latvia Yes, it is covered. The referral from the GP is necessary though.Lithuania All the test fees are covered by the national health system.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands Yes. Test fees are covered by Public Health Budget.
North Macedonia PCR testing for COVID-19 is free of charge only when referred by a GP or an epidemiologist. Testing for COVID19 serology is free
of charge for all health professionals at the Institute of immunology and human genetics and the University institute of clinical
biochemistry.
Norway Normally yes.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania No
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden Ther is no charge for PCR tests. The fee for the antibody test varies depending on the healthcare region but e.g in the biggest
region in Stockholm, the antibody tests are for free.
Switzerland Depends on the situation.
Turkey Test fees are not covered by the national health system when healthcare professionals want to be tested without having
symptoms of COVID-19.
UK Yes
Ukraine The national health system covers testing only if referred by a family doctor, or by the attending physician if the patient is being
treated at a state hospital. And in such cases, the suspect of COVID-19 must take a test in a state laboratory. You can choose
where to do the test. Tests are provided both in the public and private sector. In the public sector, the test is free of charge. In
the private sector a fee applies. Fees vary.Country Are doctors a priority group in the national COVID-19 vaccination plan?
Albania 0
Austria Yes.
Belgium 0
Bulgaria Yes. A National Vaccination Plan has been adopted on the 4 December 2020. Phase I: Medical staff of outpatient and inpatient
care facilities, healthcare professionals, dentists, pharmacists, assistant pharmacists and other support staff.
Expected number of Phase I: 243,600 persons
oDoctors - 30,000 persons
o Dentists - 10,000 people
o Health care specialists - 46,000 people
o Master of Pharmacy - 6,600 people
o Assistant pharmacists - 2,000 people
o Support staff - 150,000 people
Phase II: Customers/ patients and staff of social institutions, teachers and staff of mink farms.
Expected number: 112,080 people
o Social institutions: 15,000 residents and 8,000 staff
o Teachers - 89,000 people
o Staff of mink farms - 80 people
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic 0
Denmark Health personnel is planned to be among the first groups to get the vaccine.
Estonia 0
Finland Healthcare personnel is a priority group.
France 0
Georgia Healthcare personnel is number one priority group.
Germany Yes. Doctors, along with other health professionals are a priority group in the German vaccination plan.
Greece 0Hungary 0
Iceland 0
Ireland Yes, doctors are a priority group in the national COVID-19 vaccination plan. The initial vaccine roll out prioritises vulnerable
groups in nursing home and residential settings and frontline healthcare workers in direct patient contact roles, including
vaccinators.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* Yes.
Latvia 0
Lithuania 0
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands Yes, doctors working in acute care and COVID-19 units have been prioritized. Doctors working in nursing homes, and doctors
working in disability care and home care are a priority group in the first round. Also primary care doctors have been prioritized.
North Macedonia Yes, all health care professionals are planned to be the first to be vaccinated.
Norway Partly. Per 08.01.2021 are until 20% of the vaccines sendt to the communities supposed to og to critical health
personell(doctors, nurses and other) and 30 000 vaccines are prioritized to critical health personell in the hospitals.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania 0
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0Sweden Doctors were not a priority group at first but now the authorities have agreed that vaccination of healthcare staff within ICUs
and other COVID-19 related wards can be vaccinated in parallel with the priority groups that are
• Persons who live in the elderly care homes or have homecare.
• Staff in elderly care, healthcare and other care staff who work close to people above.
• Close household contacts to people who have homecare.
Switzerland 0
Turkey Yes, all healthcare professionals are a priority group in the national COVID-19 vaccination plan, see
https://www.ttb.org.tr/kutuphane/covid19-rapor_10.pdf.
UK Yes
Ukraine Yes, all healthcare professionals are a priority group in the national COVID-19 vaccination plan. This vaccination plan have 5
phases. Phase 1: health professionals who directly provide care to patients with COVID-19. Phase 2: all other health
professionals.Country Who may administer the COVID-19 vaccine (under supervision of a doctor)?
Albania 0
Austria Doctors in training, retired doctors and foreign doctors as well as medical students, qualified nurses and paramedics, depending
on whether they have the necessary training.
Belgium 0
Bulgaria Immunisations will be administered by doctors in medical establishments for outpatient and inpatient medical care, Regional
Health Inspections, by doctors in specialised structures of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense and by teams
especially created for this purpose, incl. and mobile teams. Vaccines against COVID-19 is free of charge for the population,
regardless of the health insurance status of the persons.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic 0
Denmark The covid-19 vaccine is administered by the normal rules of delegation but the set up with establishing vaccine centres etc. are
very tight for minimising the risk of wasting vaccines.
Estonia 0
Finland Healthcare personnel may administer the vaccine.
France 0
Georgia The commission of vaccination administrates vaccinations and is set up by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Health.
Germany Before a vaccine can be administered, patients have to be specifically instructed by a doctor. Hereafter, all competent health
professionals can administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
Greece 0
Hungary 0
Iceland 0Ireland Currenlty qualified and trained healthcare workers, including hospital doctors, community medical officers, nurses, GPs and
pharmacists may admisnister vaccines
A COVID-19 Vaccinator Recruitment Iniatitive is currently underway to expand the pool of healthcare professionals to
administer vaccines. Applicants must be registered or entitled to be.
Criteria for vaccinators include:
•Doctor
•Nurse/Midwife
•Pharmacist
•Physiotherapist
•Emergency Medical Technician
•Paramedic/Advanced Paramedic
•Dentist
•Optometrist
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* Nurses may administer under supervision of a doctor.
Latvia 0
Lithuania 0
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands Health professionals who are competent / skilled and meet the legal requirements (wet BIG).
North Macedonia The vaccine is not yet available in North Macedonia, so a vaccination plan is yet not revealed. However, we have established a
network of immunization teams. Immunization teams (doctor and nurse) work in immunization departments within health
centers countrywide, which are coordinated and supervised by regional public health centers and the National Public Health
Institute.
Norway Nurses and doctors may administer the vaccine.
Poland 0Portugal 0
Romania 0
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden Licenced doctors and licenced nurses.
Switzerland 0
Turkey The nurses and midwives may administer the COVID-19 vaccine in Turkey.
UK https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/covid-19/vaccines/covid-19-vaccination-programme-extra-workforce
Ukraine Doctors in training, nurses and paramedics, depending on whether they have the necessary training. Vaccination only on the
recommendation and administer under supervision of a physician.Country How does your country organise the staffing of the vaccine centres?
Albania 0
Austria This differs by province, but Austria does not plan to establsh large-scale vaccine centres. Instead, already existing infrastructure
will be used and expanded depending on the current phase of the vaccination plan.
Belgium 0
Bulgaria In order to create a streamlined organisation for the supply of vaccines, the country is divided into six regions.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic 0
Denmark Among other initiatives the regions have established job-banks for retired doctors and nurses. They are now used for staffing
vaccine centres. GPs vaccinate the elderly in the nursing homes.
Estonia 0
Finland Municipalities are responsible for organising the vaccinations in their respective areas.
France 0
Georgia Georgia has no specific plan yet. Only after it is known which vaccine Georgia will get, the plan is specified. This is estimated for
the beginning of March.
Germany The medical staff in the vaccines centres mainly consists of health professionals that work in nearby hopsitals or that are
resident doctors. Logistical support is provided by aid organizations, the German millitary and logistics companies.
Greece 0
Hungary 0
Iceland 0
Ireland Vaccine centres are staffed by GPs , practice nurses and practice staff.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* 0
Latvia 0
Lithuania 0Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands Regional public health services are staffed for BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine. Moderna vaccine wil be distributed/administered by
GP's / nursing homes, etc.
North Macedonia Immunization teams (doctor and nurse) already work in health centers. They are also trained for outreach work, meaning, they
regularly travel to rural regions where they vaccinate on-site.
Norway The staffing of vaccine centres differs throughout the country.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania 0
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden In Sweden, the 21 heathcare regions are responsible for vaccination in their own region and they have different strategies for
organizing the vaccination.
Switzerland 0
Turkey Family physicians and family health personnel were assigned in the vaccine administration unit in family health centers. Doctors
and nurses were assigned to the vaccine administration unit established in hospitals. For the mobile vaccination service,
healthcare professionals working in the community health center work.
UK In England, general practice surgeries are working in groups using existing staff doing additional hours, along with volunteers
and others returning to the workforce. Practices arrange staffing rotas themselves.
Ukraine Special immunization teams (doctor and nurse) are planed to work in medical centers or mobile crews - according to the
schedule.Country If you use a digital contact tracing app, is there a different regime for the proximity
alerts if you are a health professional?
Albania 0
Austria No
Belgium 0
Bulgaria N/A
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic 0
Denmark No
Estonia No, there is not.
Finland The app "Koronavilkku" is the same for all who use it (i.e. approximately 2 meters, 15 minutes). 2,5 million Finns have
downloaded the app out of a population of 5,5 million.
France There are no differences.
Georgia There are no differences.
Germany The German digital contact tracing app makes no distinction between the general population and health professionals regarding
the proximity alerts regime.
Greece There is no digital contact tracing app.
Hungary No, there is not.
Iceland No, there is not.
Ireland No, there is not.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* No, there is not.
Latvia No, there is not.
Lithuania We don't use a digital contact tracing app.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0Montenegro 0 Netherlands No. North Macedonia We don't use any digital contact tracing app. Norway No digital contact tracing app is currently used nationally. Poland 0 Portugal 0 Romania There is no established digital tracking system in Romania. Serbia 0 Slovakia 0 Slovenia 0 Spain 0 Sweden In Sweden we do not have a contact tracing app. Switzerland No, there is not. Turkey It’s available only for vaccination. UK 0 Ukraine No.
Country Shortages of medicines (e.g. Propophol)?
Albania 0
Austria No
Belgium 0
Bulgaria No shortages
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic Currently not.
Denmark Shortages of different kind of medicines occur regularly.
Estonia No, there are no shortages.
Finland No shortages have been reported.
France There is currently no communication about the risk of drug shortage.
Georgia All medicines are available as required by guidelines.
Germany In spring 2020, there were concerns about potential shortages of propophol, adrenalin and vaccines against pneumococci.
However, there are no shortages reported now.
Greece No, there are no shortages.
Hungary No, there are no shortages.
Iceland No, there is not.
Ireland No, there are no shortages.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* No, there is not.
Latvia No, there is not.
Lithuania Currently not.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0Netherlands At the moment no shortage.
North Macedonia There were no shortages of registered medications in hospitals. However, in pharmacies there were shortages of some
prescription medications, for example there are often shortages of Clexane and Fraxiparine.
Norway A list of medicines published by the Norwegian Medicines Agency shows that there is a shortage of medicines, for example
cisatracurium and paracetamol, but alternatives are available. More information can be found here:
https://legemiddelverket.no/legemiddelmangel/nyheter-om-legemiddelmangel-og-avregistreringe
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania With a few exceptions related to temporary procurement difficulties, there are still no medicines shortages.
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden No longer any shortage of propophol.
Switzerland Yes, they have been documented.
Turkey The Ministry of Health has not shared any data on this issue.
UK Currently, there are no COVID-specific shortages.
Ukraine Currently not.Country Shortages of Medical Devices (e.g. ventilation devices)?
Albania 0
Austria No
Belgium 0
Bulgaria No shortages
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic Currently not.
Denmark No
Estonia No, there are no shortages.
Finland No shortages have been reported. The epidemic is in control all around the country and healthcare capacity has been sufficient
so far.
France There is currently no communication about the risk of medical devices shortage.
Georgia Yes.
Germany There is no acutal shortage. However, the German government ordered more than 26000 new ventilation devices in spring
2020.
Greece No, there are no shortages.
Hungary No, there are no shortages.
Iceland At the beginning of the pandemic there was an urgent need to restock medical devices in the national hospital, but that was
dealt with in cooperation with other countries including China. Today there is no shortage.
Ireland No, there are no shortages.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* No, there are no shortages.
Latvia No, there is not.
Lithuania No, there are no shortages.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0Montenegro 0
Netherlands At the moment no shortage.
North Macedonia No, there are no shortages.
Norway The demand is met at the moment.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania For now, at the current level of new daily cases that today exceeded 3,000 with about 600 COVID patients in intensive care, the
health system still can manage, but by reaching 1,000 patients in intensive care, the technical and human capacity will be
exceeded, even if they will expand the ICU wards.
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden No shortage of ventilation devices.
Switzerland Yes, they have been documented.
Turkey The Ministry of Health has not shared sufficient and appropriate data on this issue.
UK Concerns around ventilator supply in initial months of pandemic, NHS reportedly had to use ventilators in ICU usually used in
other settings (e.g. in operating theatres). Government efforts to increase supply appear to have reduced shortage. Rate limiting
factor is rather having enough trained staff to use such devices.
Ukraine Currently not.Country Have you used 100% of your stocks of medical devices and medicines needed to treat
COVID-19 patients at any time of the pandemic?
Albania 0
Austria No
Belgium 0
Bulgaria No. In fact, according to a recent survey, hospitals believe they can manage a new wave over the autumn/winter period in terms
of equipment.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic Not yet.
Denmark No
Estonia No, they were not.
Finland No, they were not.
France This has not been specified.
Georgia No.
Germany No, they were not.
Greece No, they were not.
Hungary No, they were not.
Iceland No, there is not.
Ireland No, no they were not.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* No.
Latvia No
Lithuania No
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0Montenegro 0
Netherlands Yes.
North Macedonia Only briefly.
Norway n/a
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania Only for very short periods of time
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden No. Sweden has had enough capacity during the pandemic apart from initial shortage of some medicines and PPE.
Switzerland Unknown.
Turkey The Ministry of Health has not shared sufficient and appropriate data on this issue.
UK Nationally this is unlikely to have been the case, but there were reports of localised shortages during the pandemic.
Ukraine Currently not. In some centers shortages existed in the previous period re. ventilator devices and oxygen supply networks to
patient beds.Country Did you manage to restock medicines and medical devices? Did you cooperate with
other countries or participate in any EU programme?
Albania 0
Austria Yes
Belgium 0
Bulgaria Yes. But Bulgaria has not cooperated with other countries
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic As far as I know, during the first wave of the epidemic, there was sort of a symbolic aid happening from the side of the Czech
Republic towards Italy.
Denmark Yes. DMA does not know if Denmark has cooperated or participated in any EU programmes.
Estonia Yes, it was possible to restock.
Finland Restocking has been possible. Finland has participated some EU programmes.
France There was cooperation in the context of EMA activities.
Georgia Georgia received a grant from the EU and bought some medical equipment, protective equipment. Trainings are hold for
medical staff. Georgia is expecting support on vaccines.
Germany Regarding medical devices, Germany donated ventilation devices to France, Italy and Spain. Filling a gap of the corresponding
EU programme, Germany also plans to give some ventilation devices to developing countries. Germany also supports rescEU,
the European Commission's strategic medical reserve and distribution mechanism under the umbrella of the EU Civil Protection
mechanism. Germany is among the nine EU Member States that host stockpiles of medical devices.
Greece This is not applicable.
Hungary Yes, it was possible to restock. There was no participation in EU programmes.
Iceland Yes, it was possible to restock.
Ireland N/A
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* Yes, in cooperation with WHO, World Bank and the EU Commission.Latvia N/A
Lithuania Yes
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands Yes, we managed to restock medicines and medical devices, and we did not cooperate with other countries or participate in any
EU programme.
North Macedonia Yes. Some EU countries donated PPE and medical devices. EU donated 12 respirators, Germany 8, Norway donated also. EU
grants were received for fighting the pandemic.
Norway Yes. In March Norway joined the EU JPA initiative on joint procurement of medicines, medical equipment and PPE.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania The Ministry of Health is the competent authority in the field. We do not have concrete information on the supply process and
possible collaborations.
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden N/A
Switzerland Partially.
Turkey The Ministry of Health has not shared any data on this issue.
UK UK government took steps to increase ventilator supply, although it was criticised by a Public Accounts Committee report in Nov
2020 for being too slow in its response: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-
committee/news/132853/government-lost-a-crucial-month-in-underprepared-slow-ventilators-response/. There were media
reports in March 2020 about the UK government not signing up to an EU scheme to source more devices:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52052694
Ukraine The Ministry of Health has not shared any data on this issue.Country Have you noticed an increase of falsified or substandard medical devices or
medicines to treat COVID-19 patients?
Albania 0
Austria No
Belgium 0
Bulgaria We had an issue with substandard PPE and desinfectants, but it has been solved.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic Some of the PPE purchased from China did not meet the standards. According to our sources, the Ministry of Health is currently
in dispute with a few companies which were selling PPE to our country at immoderate prices.
Denmark No
Estonia No, there were no such cases.
Finland No such cases were reported. Some PPE purchased in spring was substandard compared to what was ordered.
France Not specified
Georgia No, not until now.
Germany 0
Greece No, there were no such cases.
Hungary No, there were no such cases.
Iceland No, there were no such cases.
Ireland No.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* No, there were no such reports.
Latvia No, there were no such cases.
Lithuania No
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0Montenegro 0 Netherlands Yes. North Macedonia No, except for medical masks. Questions were raised about their quality and declaration. Norway N/A Poland 0 Portugal 0 Romania N/A Serbia 0 Slovakia 0 Slovenia 0 Spain 0 Sweden N/A Switzerland No, there were no such cases. Except for not declared non medical use masks. Turkey There is no reliable data on this subject. UK No Ukraine No, there were no such reports.
Country Shortage of workforce?
Albania 0
Austria No
Belgium 0
Bulgaria Yes, severe shortages, particularly of infectionists, anaestesiologists, pathologists and nurses. A recent survey reported that lack
of health professionals is the biggest challenge.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic Lack of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals is a chronical issue of our healthcare system. COVID-19 epidemic
made the issue even worse. For instance, the older doctors were afraid to work, doctors-parents could not work since the
schools were closed and they had to take care of their children. However, thanks to taking rapid, tough measures, the first wave
of the epidemic was eventually managed enough to leave our underfinanced and personally devastated health care system
functional.
Denmark The workforce is under great pressure because of Covid-19 patients and catching up the missing operations etc. from the spring
period - and colleagues who themselves are Covid-19 infected.
Estonia Yes, there is a shortage.
Finland The epidemic situation varies in different regions. Some healthcare professionals have temporarily changed their tasks or unit in
which they work. An actual shortage has not been reported.
France The situations were very different depending on the different regions and the heavily populated cities impacted by COVID-19.
Georgia No, not at the moment.
Germany A shortage of workforce in the health sector existed even before the pandemic.The government recently announced that it aims
to create 5000 additional university places for medicine in Germany to remedy a shortage of doctors in the future.
Greece Unfortunately, primary healthcare is still not fully adequate, which results in citizens presenting at public hospitals, while at the
same time the pre-existing shortage of health personnel, mainly nurses, becomes apparent. The pandemic has highlighted the
need to hire more doctors and nurses, a process that has already begun but is time consuming, due to bureaucracy. During the
second pandemic wave, doctors of various specialties and nurses are moved to ICUs and emergency departments.
Hungary There is no shortage at present, but there is a possibility to relocate medical doctors or nurses if necessary.Iceland Yes, there is a shortage.
Ireland Prior to COVID-19, Ireland was already suffering from significant shortages of medical specialists. Latest figures indicate there
are approximately 730 (1/5) of specialist posts in the HSE that are unfilled or filled on a temporary basis. In Public Health
Medicine, Ireland has just 68 public healh specialists (or 1/3) the number of public health specialists compared to other
countries of a similar population size and demography.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* Yes.
Latvia Yes, there is a shortage, especially of nurses.
Lithuania So far, there was no problem.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands Yes, again due to second wave of COVID-19 infections.
North Macedonia Yes, mostly nurses and infectologists, anesthesiologists, pulmologists and epidemiologists. Since the start of the pandemic all
doctors and nurses were mobilized and "the method of rotation" was implemented. At the peak of the second wave doctors and
nurses from various specialties and departments were transferred to work temporarily in COVID19 units.
Norway In March 2020, medical students were asked to volunteer due to a foreseen shortage of medical staff.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania In some counties this is a reality. Residents of intensive care in the last year of training were used, and specialists in public
health and epidemiology were seconded for short periods where necessary.
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden The shortage of medical specialists has affected Swedish healthcare for a long time even prior to the pandemic and has
contributed to a strained work environment in both primary care and in emergency and inpatient care.
Switzerland Unequal distribution.Turkey The Ministry of Health has not shared sufficient and appropriate data on this issue.
UK Workforce shortages are an ongoing issue, predating COVID. The BMA has regularly raised this issue with the government.
During the first wave of the pandemic the NHS relied on medical students and retired staff returning to the front line though
data on precise numbers is lacking. Existing staff had to be re-deployed to different settings to deal with demand, which is also
be the case in the second wave.
Ukraine Yes, severe shortages, particularly of infectionists, anaestesiologists, and nurses. Lack of health professionals is the biggest
challenge.Country Do you still rely on national reserves of healthcare professionals, e.g. retired doctors,
students?
Albania 0
Austria Yes
Belgium 0
Bulgaria No
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic At the moment, our problem is the insufficient capacity of the “hygienic” services (public health services) which leads to
insufficient contact tracing. The public health services have been assisted by soldiers and, for example, students lately.
Denmark No, but there is now a possibility established to enroll these groups quickly.
Estonia No, not currently.
Finland There has been no need since spring. Students have been used in tracing work.
France This applies only to the Overseas Territories.
Georgia Yes.
Germany In the much affected German state of Saxony, retired doctors were asked for their support by the state's health minister in
November 2020. Retired doctors can also support vaccine centers or they can work for the public health authorities on contact
tracing of COVID-19 patients.
Greece No, not currently.
Hungary They are available if needed.
Iceland Yes.
Ireland Approximately 950 interns were taken on last year to fight COVID 19, however many will likely emigrate at the end of the intern
year as the number of specialist training posts available remains around 700. Just 330 healthcare workers were recruited out of
75,000 applicants to the HSE’s ‘Be on Call for Ireland’ initiative, a drive to support the health service during the Covid-19
pandemic.
Israel 0
Italy 0
Kosovo* Yes.Latvia Yes, a voluntary call has been launched.
Lithuania No, There are still additional healthcare professionals employed and redeployed mainly to public health departments to support
testing and tracing.
Luxembourg 0
Malta 0
Montenegro 0
Netherlands Yes, again in second wave.
North Macedonia No, currently not. During the peak of the second wave in November 2020 medical students were helping epidemiologists in
contact tracing.
Norway No, not currently.
Poland 0
Portugal 0
Romania Currently not, but in March and April were also used student volunteers. Retired doctors were not mobilized.
Serbia 0
Slovakia 0
Slovenia 0
Spain 0
Sweden No, not anymore.
Switzerland No.
Turkey Yes, we trust them to be competent and qualified.UK The General Medical Council has granted temporary registration to additional doctors under its emergency powers, so that they
are able to help with the coronavirus pandemic. This includes:
• 15,500 doctors who had given up their registration or licence to practise within the last three years
• nearly 6,800 doctors with a UK address who gave up their registration between three and six years ago
• a further 12,000 doctors with a UK address who are GMC registered, but who do not currently hold a licence to practise.
Doctors are being added to the medical register and given an option to opt out if they do not wish to be on the register.
Returning to work is voluntary but in case doctors do not opt out:
• They will be asked to complete a short survey to help determine your skills and how you can assist the health service
• They will remain on the medical register with a license to practise for the duration of the emergency
• They won’t be charged to re-join the medical register
• They won’t need to revalidate during your temporary registration.
The BMA has published its advice for returning to clinical practice: https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/career-
progression/applying-for-a-job/returning-to-clinical-practice-after-absence
As part of action responding to the outbreak of Coronavirus, some medical schools and trusts/boards have offered medical
students the opportunity to take on contracts of employment in the NHS.
Ukraine No.Country Working time/Work load
Albania 0
Austria Borth working time and work load have increased. No special rules apply, but doctors may be compensated both financially or
with time off for overtime.
Belgium 0
Bulgaria Working time has been changed only for COVID-19 wards and ICUs.
Croatia 0
Cyprus 0
Czech Republic During the first wave of the epidemic (March, April), there were special rules recognised in hospitals. E.g. Medical personnel
were divided into teams to prevent COVID-19 exposure; most elective surgeries were postponed as well as care for patients
with chronic illnesses. Medical personnel in acute-care facilities were working in 12 hour shifts.
Denmark ?
Estonia There were extra hours for COVID-wards.
Finland The epidemic situation was very good in summer, but has got worse towards the end of the year 2020. Consequently, the work
load has increased in addition to dealing with the backlog of treatments.
France This has not been evaluated but there is a very large volume of hours of activity for health professionals in the highly affected
regions.
Georgia Doctors and epidemilogists work extra hours in certain situations.
Germany It is likely that working time and the work load of doctors increased through the pandemic. A survey from 2018 concluded that
more than a third of the 445000 German doctors worked more than 48 hours a week regularly.
Greece There is no regular work shift. All healthcare professionals work overtime.
Hungary Working time and the work load are elevated.
Iceland Working time and the work load are elevated.
Ireland There are ongoing issues in relation to working time and workload particularly in Public Health medicine and Occupational
Health medicine.
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